Computer-aided techniques include Computer-Aided Design or CAD, which relates to software solutions for authoring product design. Similarly, CAE is an acronym for Computer-Aided Engineering, e.g. it relates to software solutions for simulating the physical behavior of a future product. CAM stands for Computer-Aided Manufacturing and typically includes software solutions for defining manufacturing operations.
A number of systems and programs are offered on the market for the design of parts or assemblies of parts, forming a product, such as the one provided by Dassault Systemes under the trademark CATIA. These CAD systems allow a user to design and manipulate complex 3D models of objects or assemblies of objects. CAD systems thus provide a representation of modeled objects using edges or lines, in certain cases with faces. Lines or edges may be represented in various manners, e.g. non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). These CAD systems manage parts or assemblies of parts as modeled objects, which are essentially specifications of geometry. Specifically, CAD files contain specifications, from which geometry is generated, which in turn allow for a representation to be generated. Specifications, geometry and representation may be stored in a single CAD file or multiple ones. CAD systems include graphic tools for representing the modeled objects to the designers; these tools are dedicated to the display of complex objects—the typical size of a file representing an object in a CAD system being in the range of one Megabyte per part, and an assembly may comprise thousands of parts. For instance, the typical size of a ship section manufacturing assembly is 3000 parts; each parts is 0.1 to 0.2 Mb; a ship is made of hundreds of sections. A CAD system manages models of objects, which are stored in electronic files. In computer-aided techniques, the graphical user interface (GUI) plays an important role as regards the efficiency of the technique.
Also known are Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, which refer to a business strategy that helps companies to share product data, apply common processes, and leverage corporate knowledge for the development of products from conception to the end of their life, across the concept of extended enterprise. By including the actors (company departments, business partners, suppliers, OEM, and customers), PLM may allow this network to operate as a single entity to conceptualize, design, build, and support products.
Some PLM solutions make it for instance possible to design and develop products by creating digital mockups (a 3D graphical model of a product). For instance, the digital product may be first defined and simulated using an appropriate application. Then, the lean digital manufacturing processes may be defined.
The PLM solution provided by Dassault Systemes (for example under the trademarks CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA) provides an Engineering Hub, which organizes product engineering knowledge, a Manufacturing Hub, which manages manufacturing engineering knowledge, and an Enterprise Hub which enables enterprise integrations and connections into both the Engineering and Manufacturing Hubs. All together the system delivers an open object model linking products, processes and resources to enable dynamic, knowledge-based product creation and decision support that drives optimized product definition, manufacturing preparation, production and service. Such PLM solutions comprise a relational database of products. The database comprises a set of geometrical data, textual data and relations between the data. Data typically include technical data related to the products said data being ordered in a hierarchy of data and are indexed to be searchable. The data are representative of the products, which are often modeled objects.
Product lifecycle information, including product configuration, process knowledge and resources information are typically intended to be edited in a collaborative way.
To this respect, a collaborative workspace can be defined as an interconnected environment in which participants in the product lifecycle (design and also marketing, sales, manufacturing, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, and customers) can access and interact with each other's “In-Work” designs, thereby enhancing communication through exchange, direct use, simulation and validation in 3D.
Product data management (PDM) systems refer to tools used to control access to and manage all product definition data of the relational database. This is achieved by maintaining product information (or meta-data). A PDM solution may automatically store and manage product information and facilitates collaboration throughout the enterprise and across the value chain. It may further integrate people and processes by automating and tracking standard workflows within an organization and its supply chain, driving efficiency and accountability, and facilitating standards compliance.
For the sake of completeness, a database is defined usually as a collection of data or information organized for rapid search and retrieval, especially by a computer. Databases are structured to facilitate storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of data in conjunction with various data-processing operations. A database consists of a file or set of files that can be broken down into records, each of which consists of one or more fields. Fields are the basic units of data storage. Users retrieve database information primarily through queries. Using keywords and sorting commands, users can rapidly search, rearrange, group, and select the field in many records to retrieve or create reports on particular aggregates of data according to the rules of the database management system being used.
Thus, known solutions of CAD/CAM applications make it possible, among other features, to design parts, while a PDM system typically includes a database storing all the data related to the designed products or parts and the relations between said products or parts.
To this respect, the ENOVIA Solutions make it possible to graphically define, share and manage product, process and resource information stored in a PDM database throughout the product lifecycle process.
DELMIA PLM offers a comprehensive suite of digital 3D manufacturing solutions that allow the complete design and validation of a manufacturing process through a digital mock-up. DELMIA PLM thus seeks to enable companies to optimize their manufacturing process before actual production takes place. DELMIA PLM solutions are built on an open product, process and resources model. They enable the continuous creation and validation of the manufacturing process in the following domains:
Process planning: The DELMIA Process Planning suite provides comprehensive process and resource planning support. It creates an environment that allows customers to review the sequences and links between processes and resources early in the product design cycle. Customers can perform planning tasks such as layout planning, time measurement, process and resource planning, product evaluation, cost analysis and factory line balancing.
Process detailing and validation: The DELMIA Process Detailing and Validation suite employs the structure and diagrams of the DELMIA Process Planning solutions. It addresses specific manufacturing issues using actual product geometry and defines processes in detail in a 3D environment. Processes that can be validated in 3D include manufacturing and maintenance, weld point allocations, assembly sequences, factory/cell layouts and machining operations.
Resource modeling and simulation: The DELMIA Resource Modeling and Simulation suite provides the tools to develop and implement the mechanical resources, routines and programming that are used in conjunction with the Process Planning and Process Detailing and Validation solutions. Resources such as robots, tooling, fixtures, machinery, automation and ergonomics are defined and integrated into complete manufacturing scenarios.
DELMIA Solutions today is well adapted to the optimization of manufacturing processes where output products can be seen as a mere assembly of input products, i.e. input products are not significantly transformed during assembly operations. However, in some industries such as shipbuilding for instance, manufacturing process is not a mere assembly of design input sub-products that can be pre-fabricated to exact dimensions and fit exactly with each other. Some of the design input sub-product of the final product need to be prepared and interim sub-products need to be generated that include manufacturing features which are not present on the final design product but which are necessary to perform a subsequent manufacturing operation.
Such interim sub-products can not be automatically defined by the capture of a final design product because some of the manufacturing features linked to interim sub-product are process specific, i.e., the manufacturing features are specified by the process and the resource through which it is produced. Notably, the manufacturing features are consumed (i.e. disappear) during a subsequent manufacturing process step.
For instance, when assembling several sub-products together to form a new product, operators first need to retrieve them from a buffer, accurately position them against each other before finally welding them. In order to facilitate these operations, different marks are accommodated. Identifier of the sub-product to be assembled helps the operator retrieve the right one. Attachment lines and alignment marks help the operator properly position it. This reduces the need for operators to constantly relate to paper drawings that are expensive to produce and usually obsolete.
Also, heavy steel parts tend to shrink and distort whenever heated during welding operations, due to high temperature gradients. Therefore an interim sub-product must be provided with extra-length when cut to compensate for subsequent welding operation. This manufacturing feature called “added-material” is consumed when welding is later carried out during an assembly step.
Also, good welding procedures require edges to be prepared. This means an input interim sub-product must be provided with some bevels along the welded edges. Shape of bevels is a function of the welding procedure, as well as the beveling machine.
Another example is to account for the fact that interim sub-products can undergo some operations the design parts were not designed for. For instance, workers will have to walk on a panel and may fall through cutouts during intermediate assembly stages. This means the input interim sub-products must be provided with tabbed or marked cutout that will be cut during a later assembly stage.
For sake of clarity, it should be understood that the expression “product” refers to output products, input products or sub-products (as well as terminal raw piece material product) depending on the entry point on the manufacturing process that is considered. On the other hand, the expression, “interim product” refers to temporary products used during the manufacturing process.